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HAMILTON – Colgate Men's Basketball used strong defense and multiple runs here Wednesday night to ease past Army West Point 80-66.
 
The Raiders held a 35-31 lead at the break and extended that advantage in the second 20 minutes of play following runs of 11-0, 8-0 and 7-0. Colgate increased its edge to the largest of the game during its final rally to make it a 72-48 ballgame.
 
Army answered with an 18-6 run of its own with less than three minutes to play but the Raiders were able to fend off any final Black Knight chances of pulling even to earn their third victory in conference play. Half of Army's points during that stretch came from the hand of Nathan Hodge, who hit three 3-pointers to keep the Black Knights alive.
 
Austin Tillotson inched closer to reaching that 1,000-point plateau with 18 points in Wednesday's contest. He now sits just 35 shy of hitting 1,000 career points at Colgate. The senior added two assists and three steals to his already impressive night.
 
Also reaching twin figures was Jordan Swopshire and Sean O'Brien, who tallied 14 and 11 points, respectively. Swopshire drained three from behind-the-arc, while O'Brien converted on 5-of-8 attempts from the floor. O'Brien notched five helpers, five rebounds and a career-high four steals as well.
 
Tom Rivard posted a solid defensive game, pulling down a team-best seven rebounds, to go along with his career-high four blocks.
 
Colgate was a tenth of a percentage point away from matching its shooting season high from the floor, finishing at 53.4 for the night (53.5 vs. American on Jan. 3). The Raiders also hit 10-of-25 from downtown, while making 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
 
The Raiders have a tough road ahead as they travel to league-leaders Bucknell on Saturday. The Bison are currently undefeated with a 5-0 mark. Gametime is slated for 7 p.m. in Sojka Pavilion. Live stats and video will be available at the start.

Bottom Line
• Colgate 80, Army 66
• The win marked the Raiders second straight against the Black Knights.
• Army's 66 points was a season-low.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in Patriot League play.
• Army dips to 11-6 and 2-3, respectively.
 
How It Happened
• In a back-and-forth opening five minutes which saw four tie scores, Army pulled in front 19-15 following a layup from Dylan Cox.
• Colgate then responded with a 7-0 run over a three-minutes span to take a 22-19 edge with 8:33 left to play in the first half.
• Kyle Wilson drained a 3-pointer two minutes later to make it a one-point game but again, the Raiders answered with a 4-0 run to create a 31-26 gap between the teams.
• Colgate maintained its slight edge and headed into the break up 35-31.
• It was still a 44-39 Raiders lead four minutes into the second period but not for long. Colgate sparked an 11-0 run over two minutes to increase its advantage to 55-39. This was the first of three big Raider runs during the second 20 minutes of action.
• The Black Knights' ended their drought with four straight points after Wilson and Larry Toomey both went 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• But again Colgate used an 8-0 run to extend the lead back to 63-43 with less than 12 minutes to play.
• Army pulled to within 65-48 two minutes later but another 7-0 run from the Raiders ultimately handed the hosts the victory.
• O'Brien's layup with 8:46 remaining on the clock awarded Colgate its largest lead in the game at 72-48.
• The Black Knights tried to rally, even going on an 18-6 run late but the Raider defense held strong and sustained its double-figure lead throughout the rest of the contest.
 
Facts & Figures
• Leading Colgate for the fourth consecutive game was Tillotson, who tallied 18 points.  
• The senior finished the night shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, including matching his career-best from long with four. He added two assists and three steals against the Black Knights as well.
• Swopshire and O'Brien reached double-digits as well with 14 and 11 points, respectively. This was Swopshire's second straight notching twin figures, while O'Brien has achieved that mark in three consecutive games.
• O'Brien also posted five rebounds, five assists and four steals on his already impressive night.
• Rivard led Colgate in rebounding, pulling down a team-best seven, including three on the offensive board.
• The Raiders dished out 19 assists, which was two away from matching their season-high.
• Colgate was also just barely shy of its best shooting night, finishing the game at 53.4 percent on 31-of-58 attempts. The Raiders added 10-of-25 makes from downtown and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Colgate outscored Army in points inside the paint (30-22), points off turnovers (28-17) and in fast break points (8-0). The Black Knights managed to slightly edge the Raiders in second chance points (15-14) and in bench points (27-26).  
• There were six lead changes and four tie scores.  
• Colgate held the advantage for the majority of play at 31:17. Army was in front for 5:47. The game was tied for 2:56.
• The Raiders extended their edge to the largest of the game with 8:46 remaining when O'Brien earned his second-to-last steal of the night. He converted a few seconds later on a layup.
 
Defense Wins Games
• Colgate held Army, a team that averages 82.9 points per game, to just 66 points, which was a season-low for the visitors.
• This marked the second time the Raiders have held a Patriot League team to a season-low scoring night (American scored just 37 points back on Jan. 3).
 
Records Watch
• Tillotson is still chipping away at reaching 1,000 career points in the Maroon and White. With his 18-point performance on Wednesday the senior now sits just 35 shy of achieving that mark in his three-year tenure at Colgate.
• The York, Pennsylvania, native is also seven helpers away from moving into third place all-time in Colgate's records book. He sits with 349 in his career.
 
Army's Numbers
• The Black Knights saw two reached double-figures in Toomey and Cox. They both recorded 12 points each.
• Mac Hoffman led Army on the boards with eight, while Toomey handed out a team-best four assists.
• The league's top scorer Tanner Plomb was sidelined for the game, while Wilson, who sits third in the league, was limited to just nine points.
• Army's 39.3 percent (22-of-56) shooting on the night was its second lowest on the season, trailing only a 39.0 mark in a loss to Marist. The Black Knights converted on 9-of-26 attempts from long range and 13-of-18 from the line. 
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cotterell Court was 720.
 
Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his team getting back on the winning track) "I was really proud of our team tonight, Sean O'Brien especially. Dana Batt came off the bench and gave us some great minutes. When Austin (Tillotson) went down with some foul trouble I thought Francisco (Amiel) stepped in and made some nice plays. He handled the pressure and got us some good field goal attempts.
 
"Some guys that normally don't step up and show themselves in big ways, although Sean has really grown up, did. (Jordan) Swopshire's jump shots, especially early in the game really helped us and then we attacked the 1-3-1 zone that they threw at us and got some good baskets, which was good for our moral after not doing so well against it during the Navy and Holy Cross games."
                                                                 
Next Up
• The Raiders are back on the road Saturday at Bucknell, who is currently tops in the Patriot League with a 5-0 mark. That game is set for a 7 p.m. tilt in Sojka Pavilion.
• The Bison are coming off an 82-76 victory over Lehigh on Monday night.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.  

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